The southern as well as northern ports are supported by a modestly extensive and well - maintained road network connecting all such ports to numerous border points with neighboring countries and mainland stations and customs houses. Almost all such border points are attended by customs & quarantine posts. A catalogue of national road network with full details is published by and can be obtainable from TTO.
Over 180'000 light and heavy duty vehicles are serving the road carriage of cargo.
Out of this, over 15000 vehicles composed of flat, tilt, jumbo & low-bed trucks bear Int'l plate Nos & Int'l documents. About half of this number of Int'l trucks are duly registered and cross many countries under Tir system.
Moreover Iran enjoys bilateral & multilateral agreements with over forty countries in Europe & Asia for cross-country & pick-up / delivery operations.
Such Int'l trucks are under control & management of some 400 carrier companies. Each of these Cos. manage between 10 up to 200 trucks, however the freight forwarder in charge of transport is fully responsible for carriage between the time he takes hold of cargo upto the time of final delivery to the consignee and is legally authorized to employ one or several carriers for the job under his custody.
The transit time for cross-country carriage of goods by road is about 5 days. One should count on 500 KM driving time per day plus the days needed for documentation and occasional border stoppages.
Freight forwarders are free in pricing. There is no compulsory tariff imposed by authorities.
Prices are subject to freight market supply & demand mechanism, hence are faced with fluctuations . However most professional freight forwarders are in a position to forecast prices for at least a month ahead, either based on current prices or by absorbing the risk thereof.
All road transport between Iran and any second country is governed by CMR convention to which Iran is a party .
Due to the fact that diesel oil price is subsidized in Iran, all foreign trucks crossing Iran are liable to a fuel surcharge depending on the level of diesel oil price in force in their country of registration and its difference with effective prices applicable in Iran .
TTO collects a levy of Rls 10 per ton-kilometer of transit goods transported by road inside Iran, for the time being.
However fuel transport per se is exposed to 30 Rials per ton-kilometer of fuel load transported .
All overland borders are equipped with TTO terminal facilities where representatives of TTO, customs administration, other organizations and agents of transport Cos. involved in transit are accommodated. Some level of welfare services are also provided for drivers and passengers.
In view of the regulation observing trailer as well as axle by axle maximum authorized pressure on road , the cargo weight of cargo inside containers is limited to 20 MT per 20' & 18 MT per 40' box. Should the weight exceed these benchmarks a separate agreement should be signed between cargo-owner & carrier for usage of special equipment. Demurrage on road vehicle or railcar at destination is for account of shipper. Should consignee refuse payment of such expenses the carrier shall keep shipper responsible for it as per ITCA mandatory rules.
Useful links :
www.irantransit.com
www.instc.org